Nurses in the community provide services to those in the community who require acute, chronic, palliative or rehabilitative support. Services include assessment and nursing interventions such as education, wound care, medication management, chronic disease management, care management, post-surgical care and palliative care.

NPs are registered nurses (RNs) with additional education at the Master’s degree level, who work with physicians and other health professionals to provide comprehensive and continuous care for patients. Although their scope of practice differs in each province, they fulfill roles in areas such as chronic disease management, health promotion, and disease prevention.

NP’s provide comprehensive clinical care including the diagnosis and management of disease/illness, prescribing medications, ordering/interpreting laboratory/diagnostic tests, and initiating referrals to specialists. NP practice does not require physician supervision.

Learn more about Nurse Practitioners here.

Physicians have a broader and deeper experience and education related to illness and diagnoses, which is absolutely needed. Just as family physicians refer to specialists, when the family doctor has gone beyond their knowledge and skill, nurse practitioner will refer to their knowledge skill and judgement.